Heart Rate Zone Calculator

Setting accurate heart rate training zones will boost your potential to improve your mtb fitness by enabling you to ride and train at the correct intensities.

Below you can find your heart rate zone calculator for use with Strength Factory online training programmes. To use it, simply type your Functional Threshold Heart Rate (FTHR) into the top box, click ‘Calculate’ and the rest is easy.

If you have not yet conducted a FTHR test, then go back to your programme to get the correct protocol and come back here once you have done it.

Below this table you will also find a HR zone calculator for Max HR. This is less precise and the zones will be different, so only use it if you really can’t set up a FTHR test properly.



  Heart rate (beats per minute)
HR Zone Low end zone   High end zone
1. Active Recovery   <  
2. Endurance   to  
3. Tempo   to  
4. Threshold   to  
5. VO2 max   to  
Anaerobic capacity N/A   N/A


  Heart rate (beats per minute)
HR Zone Low end zone   High end zone
1. Active Recovery   to  
2. Endurance   to  
3. Tempo   to  
4. Threshold   to  
5. VO2 max   to  
Anaerobic capacity N/A   N/A

If you are focused on aerobic training, then you can often skip testing and simply use the Maffetone Formula. Click the link for our MAF formula heart rate calculator: